by Nancy Mehl
As Batterson stared at the man, he realized that there was no one else near them. John suddenly smiled, then glanced around. It was then Batterson knew he was in trouble. He went to reach for his gun, but he wasn’t fast enough. John stuck the barrel of his own gun into Batterson’s chest.
“Toss your gun and give me the phone,” he said. “Now.”
Batterson took out his weapon slowly and threw it to the ground, out of reach. He handed John the phone. “You’re our bomber,” he said matter-of-factly.
John gave him another sweet, almost sickening smile. When he did, Batterson noticed the scar that stretched from the corner of his left eye and ended not far from the side of his mouth. The skin tightened by the scar pulled on his eye, making it look deformed. It seemed that John had made an attempt to hide it, but sweat had caused his thick makeup to run.
“I saw you in our building. You were dressed as a maintenance man.”
John laughed. “It was way too easy to get into your offices. Just check in as a new agent, change clothes in the bathroom, and become the person no one pays attention to.” He shook his head, his eyes drilling into Batterson’s. “Too bad you didn’t recognize me sooner. It might have saved your life.”
Batterson looked around. Was there someone who might be able to help him? Hope dissipated as he realized that all attention was on the injured and dead outside the parking garage. At that moment it wasn’t losing his life that bothered him the most. It was not making that last phone call. He shouldn’t have put it off. His failure had put his people’s lives in danger.
Batterson prepared himself for the bullet that would end his life. What he didn’t expect was that John, or whatever his real name was, would raise the barrel of the gun and slam it as hard as he could into the side of Batterson’s head. As he drifted away, Batterson felt something else. Like a beesting on his thigh.
Then he slipped away into darkness.
CHAPTER
FIVE
Casey pushed the tote bag that held her clothes to the side so that all the other suitcases and bags would fit in the back of her Cruiser. She’d taught herself to pack efficiently. By interchanging certain pieces of clothing, she could come up with several different outfits. She looked down at her black slacks, small black pumps, white blouse, and black jacket. Proper clothing for accompanying a witness under normal circumstances, but things had changed. She wished she could get her jeans and sneakers out of her bag, but they needed to get out of town as quickly as possible.
When they got into the car, she noticed E.J. took the passenger seat before Doug had a chance to grab it. She pushed back a quick flash of irritation. Why did he have to sit in front? She didn’t want to be that close to him.
As she put her key in the ignition, she glanced sideways. E.J. Queen didn’t look like a law enforcement officer. Thirty years old, tall, lean, dark curly hair and dark eyes, he looked more like an aristocrat than a Deputy U.S. Marshal. There was a good reason for that. Although he was born in the U.S., he was raised in London. His father, a banker, moved his wife and only child back to the States when E.J. was sixteen. When E.J. expressed an interest in law enforcement, his wealthy parents were horrified. Casey had no idea how they got along now, but when they worked together in D.C., E.J. had mentioned some long-standing family tension.
E.J.’s smooth looks and English accent were deceptive. Anyone who thought he was weak would be in for a surprise. An ex-Marine, he had a tattoo on his right arm that said Semper Fi, and in a dangerous situation there wasn’t anyone else she’d want to have her back. He was tougher than nails. At one time she actually found herself attracted to him, but then he introduced her to his friend, Jared. She took that as a sign E.J. wasn’t interested. Even though she still had feelings for him while she dated Jared, she wasn’t the kind of person who would ever come between friends. She’d struggled to fight her attraction to E.J. Now, however, all she felt was contempt.
Ignoring him, she turned around to address Doug, who was also wearing a suit. “Once we get out of town, I suggest we change clothes. This car may not look like a government vehicle, but we still look like Marshals.”
“Good point,” Doug said. “We need to come off like four people on a road trip.” He looked over at Valerie. “Two couples. That should help us.”
Casey met E.J.’s gaze. Two couples? Her stomach lurched at the thought. “We’ll see,” she said, glancing in her side mirror. She backed out of her parking space and pulled out onto the street. “Highway 70 or something else, Doug? My guess, 70’s faster. More traffic. We might get lost in the crowd. But if we take an alternative route, we could throw them off.”
Doug was silent for a moment. Then he said, “I say we take 70. Highway Patrol is pretty active on that stretch of road. And as you said, it’s so busy, we could blend in.”
“But if we take a less obvious way, maybe by the time they figure it out, we’ll be so far ahead of them, they won’t be able to catch up,” E.J. interjected.
“No, I agree with Doug,” Casey said quickly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she wondered if she really thought Doug was right or if she just didn’t want to agree with E.J. She recognized that she wasn’t relying on her training and was reacting out of emotion. She owed Valerie more than that, so she rethought her conclusion. But in the end, she really did believe Highway 70 was the safer way to go. It would be very difficult for anyone to put them in a compromising position if they were surrounded by traffic. She looked over at E.J. “If we take 70, we have a lot of eyes on us. I don’t want to get too isolated. That could be dangerous.”
E.J. was silent for a moment. “I think you’re right,” he said finally. “Good point.”
Casey realized that, so far, E.J. had been more professional than she’d been. She had to get her emotions under control. Right now she needed to be at her best. “We’ll need to stop at a gas station and get a couple of maps. Can’t use our GPS.”
“I can look it up on my phone,” Valerie said, reaching into her purse.
“No,” Doug said sharply. “We need you to keep your phone off.” He frowned at her. “Do you have an iPhone?”
She shook her head. “No. Why?”
“They can be tracked even when they’re turned off.”
“I didn’t know that,” Valerie said. “You mentioned something about the phones earlier. Sorry. I just forgot. I use it for almost everything. It’s just an automatic reaction, I guess.”
“Maybe it would be best if I took it,” Doug offered.
Casey glanced in her rearview mirror. At that same instant, Valerie looked up and caught Casey staring at her. She could see the apprehension in Valerie’s eyes. They needed her to calm down. Transporting an unstable witness could make things even more difficult.
“Just make sure it stays off,” Casey said, giving her a smile. “If you have a pocket inside your purse, put it there and fasten it. That will help you to remember you can’t use it.”
“Th . . . thanks, I’ll do that.” She reached down for her purse and fumbled around a bit. Casey heard the sound of a zipper.
“Speaking of phones,” Casey said, “I’ve turned on the burner phone. We should be hearing from Batterson before long.”
“Are you sure you should leave it on?” E.J. asked. “It can’t be traced, but the signal could be triangulated. That could give someone an approximate idea where we are.”
“Maybe, but there’s no way anyone can tie this phone to me. I had a friend buy it with cash. Even if our perps tracked all my purchases and used facial-recognition software in every single store that sold burner phones in the St. Louis area over the past two years, they couldn’t find me or this phone.”
“I’m confused,” E.J. said. “Is this your only phone?”
She shook her head. “No, of course not.”
“So you keep this phone just in case you need an untraceable phone?” E.J. chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else doing that.”
“Our c
hief is big on burners,” Doug interjected. “Says we need to be prepared in case we ever need one. I have one, but I didn’t bring it. Didn’t think it was necessary for this assignment.” He tapped Casey on the shoulder. “When we get out of the city limits, you should probably turn it off, Casey. In the event someone’s tracking all phones headed toward D.C. You have the number of the chief’s secure line, right?”
“Of course,” she said sharply. As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she’d just snapped at Doug. She had to get herself together and quit thinking about E.J. “Thanks, Doug,” she said, even though it wasn’t necessary. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw him staring at her strangely.
“No problem,” he said. He shot her a quick smile to show her he wasn’t offended. She breathed an inward sigh of relief. Doug was a great guy, and she enjoyed working with him.
Silence settled in the car as Casey navigated the streets of St. Louis, heading toward the highway. They were on the outer edge of the cordoned-off area. Even though traffic was heavy with others fleeing downtown, at least they were moving. It certainly could have been worse.
“So you two worked together in D.C.?” Doug said finally, directing his question to E.J.
“Sure did. In fact, we were a great team. It was almost like we could read each other’s minds.” He chuckled. “We even had code words and phrases, remember, Casey? We had this one phrase we were going to use if one of us got in trouble but couldn’t speak freely. You know, like a way to communicate that we needed help.”
“What was it?” Doug asked.
E.J. grinned. “Do you remember, Casey?”
“Sure. Just keep your head down.”
“That’s pretty simple,” Doug said.
E.J. nodded. “It’s supposed to be. Something unusual might sound suspicious. Our chief loved the idea and suggested other teams come up with the same kind of thing.”
“Always good to impress the boss.”
E.J. looked away. “Yeah. He was great, only he’s gone now. We’ve got a new guy named Claypool. He’s good, but it takes time to get used to someone different.”
“Oh, sorry. I can’t imagine losing Batterson. We all really respect him.”
Casey snuck a quick look at E.J. He’d left out the part where he’d felt they needed a code because a serial killer had threatened to kidnap and kill Casey. E.J. wanted her to have something that would tip him off if she ever felt she was in danger. Casey had remained out of the killer’s grasp, but he’d gotten away from them. Because of their failure, their boss lost his job. At the time, they’d both felt responsible. Casey still did.
“Maybe we need a code phrase,” Doug said, grinning.
E.J. laughed. “You can use ours. Let’s just pray none of us ever need it.”
“Amen,” Doug said.
Ever since they’d left, Casey had been focusing her attention on looking for any cars that might be tailing them. She’d changed lanes several times, watching for vehicles that followed the same pattern. At one point she became wary of a black truck, but after a while it turned off on an exit and drove away.
E.J. must have noticed she was keeping an eye out for tails, because he said, “I’ll help watch, Casey. That way you can keep your eyes on the road.”
“Thanks, but I’m capable of doing two things at a time.”
E.J. didn’t respond, though Casey could feel his eyes on her. This was going to be harder than she’d thought. “On second thought,” she added, willing herself to sound calm and controlled, “it really would help if you’d check the traffic behind us. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
They’d been driving for almost two hours when Valerie cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, but can we stop soon? I need to use the bathroom. Maybe get something to drink.”
“Sure,” Casey said. “I’m thirsty too. I’ll pull off as soon as I can.” She began to look for a busy convenience store that also sold gas. They couldn’t risk standing out. She glanced at Doug in the rearview. “We can change clothes.”
“And grab some lunch,” E.J. said. “It’s past noon and I’m starving.”
Casey hadn’t thought about food. When she was on assignment, she’d frequently forget to eat. “Sorry. Sure.” She pointed to a sign on the side of the road. “There’s a QuikTrip up ahead. How about that? They have good food.”
E.J. chuckled. “You must not eat out much if you think a convenience store serves good food.”
Casey felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, a sign that her temper was getting ready to flare. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. “I meant for fast food. Something quick. They even have healthy choices.”
“I know,” he said with a smile. “I was just teasing you. Sorry.”
She’d overreacted. She wished D.C. had sent anyone except E.J. Why did it have to be him? She said a silent prayer, asking God to give her patience and help them get their witness to safety. Doing her job professionally was more important than dealing with old grudges. She was disappointed in herself.
She moved over to take the exit off the highway that led to the QuikTrip. Suddenly another car cut in front of her, almost forcing her off the road. She fought to get her car under control and barely kept them from careening off the pavement and tumbling down the embankment.
CHAPTER
SIX
E.J. grabbed his gun from its holster as Casey sped up, following the car that had cut them off. Yet E.J. wasn’t suspicious. No one with any brains would use a sporty red vehicle to follow a target.
Casey stayed behind the Mustang until it turned into the parking lot of a restaurant. Then she pulled in front of it, effectively blocking it.
“Everyone, stay cool,” E.J. said before opening his door. “Back me up, Doug.” He holstered his weapon, not wanting to confront the driver with a drawn weapon since he wasn’t convinced it was necessary.
“Ready,” Doug said, gun in hand but pointed at the ground. Nodding, E.J. approached the car, Doug right behind him. Making certain he could easily get his weapon if he needed to, he leaned down and peered in the window. Inside was a girl, sixteen, maybe seventeen, looking scared out of her mind. E.J. made a circular gesture with his hand, asking her to lower her window. Although she didn’t look like she wanted to comply, she finally did.
“You want to tell me why you cut us off like that?” he asked in a stern voice.
“I . . . I’m sorry, mister. I almost missed my exit. I thought there was more room.” She sniffed loudly. “I haven’t been driving long. It was really dumb.”
“You’re right, it was.” E.J. was torn between berating her and praying for her. In the end, he said, “You could have caused a serious accident. You might have hurt my friends and even killed yourself.”
“I know.” She shook her head. “I’ll be more careful. I promise.”
E.J. sighed as he studied her. He wasn’t certain she really understood the seriousness of the situation. “You know, I had a friend in high school who thought he was invincible. Didn’t wear his seat belt.” He pointed to her unfastened seat belt. “One night he lost control of his car and slammed into a tree. Flew through the windshield. His body was so torn up, his parents couldn’t even identify him. I’ll never forget their faces. I suggest you latch that seat belt and drive more responsibly so your parents will never have to live through a night like that.”
The look on her face made it clear he’d gotten through to her. Tears ran down her cheeks. “I will. You don’t have to worry about me ever doing something like that again.”
“Good.” E.J. straightened and walked away from the car. When he and Doug got into the Cruiser, he shook his head. “Just a teenager who needs to learn how to drive. Let’s get going.”
Casey turned the car around and drove back to QuikTrip. It took about twenty minutes for them to gas up, use the bathroom, change clothes, and get something to eat. Casey was right about the food. He grabbed a turkey sandwich, fruit, and an i
ced tea. He had to laugh as he watched Casey pick out two hot dogs, a candy bar, and a soda.
He sidled up next to her at the register. “What happened to healthy choices?”
At first it seemed as if he’d angered her once again, but then the corner of her mouth twitched and turned into a smile. “I might give good advice, but it doesn’t mean I always follow it.” She nodded at the hot dogs. “They’re great here. The candy and the pop keep me awake. Sometimes driving makes me sleepy.”
He nodded. “Yeah, me too. Maybe I should grab a candy bar too.”
“Maybe.”
They paid for their food and left. As they walked toward the car, E.J. couldn’t help but notice how different Casey looked in jeans and sneakers. She was still wearing the white blouse she’d had on under her jacket, but she’d taken her blond hair out of the ponytail she always wore. Her golden hair, streaked with strands that were almost white, lay soft and thick on her shoulders. He couldn’t help but think she’d be perfect for a shampoo commercial. Jared had told him once that Casey truly had no idea how beautiful she really was. “She thinks she’s plain,” he’d said. “Guess her mother convinced her she wasn’t attractive.”
E.J. couldn’t understand how anyone could make Casey Sloane feel inferior. Not only was she gorgeous, she could outshoot, outfight, and outthink a lot of the other deputies in D.C., including him. She had a natural talent for the job. When she left the office in D.C., more than one person commented that the department wasn’t as strong without her. Pretty good for someone as small and young as Casey. Actually, it was pretty good for anyone in law enforcement.
“Why don’t you let me drive for a bit?” he offered.
“I’m fine. I’m used to the car.”
“Casey, it will take almost eight hours to get to Ohio. Closer to nine with stops. You can trust me with your car, you know. Wouldn’t you like to eat your lunch and relax a bit?”